Dilemma
by Orion6
Summary: Sequel to The Untold. Sam and Daniel muse over the past 7 years...and Jack gives some suprising advice to Daniel...but will he take it?


Author's Notes: So..........having dealt with the annoying plot bunny that appeared on my keyboard during Fallen, I find that it's being encouraged to multiply. So, who am I to turn it down. Thanks to all who reviewed The Untold. And yes Beth_Taurichick....if asked for sequels, I usually do comply.  
  
Spoilers: Subtle spoilers for Children of the Gods, Forever in a Day, Holiday, Legacy, Nemesis, Meridian and Fallen.  
  
Special Notice: This is the sequel to The Untold....it's advantageous to read that first.  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Pairing: Sam/Daniel  
  
*-*  
  
She'd fought great battles with the Goa'uld and every other pesky race in the galaxy, escaped death god knows how many times - even died once, seen things that she couldn't have dreamed of 10 years ago and found the best family she could ever want....and she was laid up. Signed off. Considered not fit for Gate Travel. And by what? A cold virus!  
  
Sam sighed and snuggled deeper into the comforter on her bed. Colonel O'Neill had tried hard to suppress the chuckle as Janet had told him that Sam was going nowhere until the virus had run it's course, Teal'c had offered to make her chicken soup and Daniel, well Daniel had looked very worried. Janet had assured Sam that the virus should run it's course in a few days, and that once she was over the worse, she could return to active duty.  
  
Sam felt awful. She would rather suffer a staff blast than this annoying cold. She felt drained, sick, hot and cold both at the same time, her muscles ached, she couldn't keep any food down and she felt like she'd let down the whole team.   
  
They'd been due out on a mission that morning. Sam hadn't felt too great when she got up, but she'd put it down to lack of sleep and a heavy work schedule. However, she'd barely been able to keep her eyes open during the briefing and finally General Hammond ordered her to the infirmary to get checked out. Janet had insisted that someone should stay at home with her, but she'd given into to Sam's protests and then ordered her not to drive.   
  
Daniel had been itching to go to this planet for weeks. It had vast ruins connected with the ancients and there was some kind of energy reading coming from one of the buildings, which alerted Sam to the possibility of some new technology and even got the Colonel excited.  
  
Sam sighed and then coughed. She felt useless. She scrambled to the edge of the bed and stood up, putting her hand on the bedside table for support until her dizziness wore off. She slowly made her way to the kitchen, in search of something to drink and maybe something to eat as well. She stopped in the doorway when she saw a figure in the room. She squinted at it, trying to recognize it.  
  
"Sir?" Her voice was all croaky.  
  
"Hey...how do you feel?" He looked at Sam's confused expression. "You gave me a key Carter...you didn't answer the door, so I thought I'd come and check on you. You looked pretty rough this morning."  
  
"Yeah...um...thanks." He handed her a mug of steaming tea.  
  
"I'm not staying long...just wanted to make sure you were ok." He shifted from one foot to the other. "I know I was a bit out of line earlier..."  
  
"It's ok...even I have to admit that after everything we've all been through....a cold knocking me out is pretty funny."  
  
Jack smiled softly. "I have to go....Daniel said he'd pop by later...I'll give him the key, so you don't need to get out of bed."  
  
Sam nodded. "Ok....and thanks."  
  
Jack smiled and left. Sam took her tea into the lounge, placing it on the coffee table, she picked up the remote and a blanket and made herself comfy on the couch. She started to watch a program on Egypt and quickly fell asleep.  
  
*-*  
  
Sam dreamed of Abydos....she remembered the first time she'd met Daniel, how excited she'd been to meet the man who'd opened up this whole new world for them. She remembered the instant connection they'd had, how nice it had been to share thoughts with someone who didn't just stare at her with a blank expression, remembered her surprise when he'd theorized about the planetary shift, and how surprised he'd been when she'd agreed.  
  
Sam moaned softly in her sleep when she remembered the horror on his face when he'd realized Sha're had been taken, the pain in his eyes. The pain he'd carried for many years after that - even at his most relaxed, when he was comfortable, sitting in her lab, drinking coffee....she knew the smell of Daniel's coffee all too well. It was strong, rich, sweet...she could almost smell it now....in fact....  
  
She opened her eyes and her gaze rested on a steaming mug of coffee on the table, then moved up to the feet that were also resting on the table, up to the book resting on his lap and up to the head, dipped intently, concentrating.  
  
"Hey Daniel."  
  
He looked up from his book and smiled. "Hi...how do you feel?"  
  
"Ugh..." Sam moved and sat up slowly, curling herself into the end of the couch. "...like....actually...I'd rather not say." She smiled weakly.  
  
Daniel put his book down and studied her carefully. "Can I get you anything? Something to drink...eat?"  
  
Sam breathed in the aroma of the coffee and smiled as he chuckled and retreated to the kitchen to fetch her some. He came back and placed the mug on the table, sitting down next to her whilst reaching for his own mug.  
  
"I feel so useless...." She mumbled.  
  
"Understandable....we've all been battered quite a bit over the last few years...a cold seems futile compared to most of what we've all been through...."  
  
"I know. I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to suffer something this normal...kinda makes me feel human again though." She picked up the coffee and took a sip, allowing the liquid to warm her throat. "Hmm...thanks. The Colonel tried fobbing me off with tea earlier...sometimes it amazes me how little he really knows about me." She smiled.  
  
"As opposed to say....me?" Daniel smirked and flicked through the TV channels absently.  
  
"Well....we do spend a ridiculous amount of time together...we are paired up on missions....live in each others labs..."  
  
"...and still spend time together outside of work! Wow.....what a friendship!" Daniel chuckled and threw the remote on the floor in exasperation. "Nothing decent on."  
  
"And that surprises you?"  
  
"...well you know, a year away....thought at least I'd find something I hadn't watched before."  
  
Sam rolled her eyes and punched him playfully on the arm.  
  
Daniel frowned slightly. "Sam...I...I need to talk to you...about what I said the other day." Daniel turned and observed her. She nodded gently and settled back against the couch. "It's taken me while to actually realize what my feelings are towards you and I've been thinking back over the years we've been friends. There were certain points when I actually questioned my feelings to you without even realizing I was doing it."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Daniel leaned back against the other end of the couch, so he could watch her. "When we met on Abydos, all those years ago, it was...refreshing to find someone in the military who shared my passion for knowledge and science." Laughs softly. "As I'm sure you are aware, that first mission to Abydos was a nightmare for me. Surrounded by hard-assed military men who viewed me as the weak link in the chain. And then somewhere along the line, Jack and I found a common ground, and I found a respect for him...and a friendship was formed. By the end of the mission even Kawalski and Ferretti held some kind of respect for me. When they came back and they brought you...it almost felt like Jack had...I don't know...loosened up at bit."  
  
Sam giggled. "Oh yeah....and if you'd have been present in the briefing room before that mission, your thoughts would have been smashed to pieces. They tore me apart...especially Jack." Sam smiled remembering the 'arm-wrestle' joke. "Mind you...he immediately got on the wrong side of me and that just made me more determined to get on the wrong side of him." She smiled listening to Daniel's laughter.  
  
"It's strange isn't it, the people we end up calling friends. SG1 is my family and I love you all so much. My best friend is one Colonel O'Neill. A man who is so military through and through, and yet is the most loyal friend one could wish for....despite that fact that our friendship is fairly volatile, it is deep rooted. A Jaffa who used to work for Aphosis, kidnapped my wife and chose her for a host...and then killed my wife.." Daniel frowned slightly. "..and yet he has come to be someone I respect more than anything, someone I go to when I need reassurance....and then you...Captain Doctor..."  
  
"Oh please...it's Major now thank you." Sam giggled.  
  
"...the bright eyed scientist who managed to worm her way straight into my heart...so many times throughout those first few years, when Sha're was still out there...and we were trying to get her back...you were my shoulder to cry on, the one who offered comfort and support when I needed it."  
  
Sam smiled gently. "Daniel...maybe it's because so many times, we ended up working together...I got to know you very well, more than any of the others...I could gauge your mood just by looking at your face when you walked in my lab, the way in which you walked and whether you stood or sat down. When you lost Sha're...god...it was awful...I felt so much pain for you and what you were going through...I just...I wanted to be there for you, when you needed me..."  
  
"...and you were...more than you could ever know Samantha." He smiled as Sam frowned slightly at the use of her full name. "...remember when we brought that device of Machello's through the gate...I remember looking at you whilst I was lying there dying.....again..." Grins. "...and I remember thinking that you always seemed to just be yourself around me, you weren't worried about maintaining a cool exterior, like you were around Jack...I remember saying to you about knowing you didn't just like me for my looks..."  
  
"Daniel...so many times we've nearly lost you...and then we really did...and it was....it was the hardest thing I've had to go through in my life. You have been so important to me...to my life...you've been the one thing that I would never trade...the one thing that I wouldn't change if I had to do this all again...."  
  
"I know....when I lost Sha're...I mean finally lost her...when we'd buried her and returned home...at that point...I'd already accepted a long time ago that she wasn't coming back. And as much as it hurt, I knew I'd be ok, because I had three amazing people looking out for me. So many times when I've been taken over by something or other, or when I've been laying in the infirmary...I've seen you Samantha....the real you. That time I was committed to the nice white padded cell...the pain on your face, the desperation of just wanting to help....I saw that so clearly...when my appendix burst and I was left on earth while you guys battled the Replicators....god, I just kept thinking 'what if I don't see them again? Do they know how much they mean to me?'..."  
  
Sam reached out and placed a hand on his arm. "We know Daniel...we know what we all mean to each other. Every time we go through that gate, we are responsible for each other...and everytime we know that one of us might not come back...I don't think I ever really believed that it was possible to love as much as I love the three of you. Jack...as much as he constantly cuts me off and gets on my nerves...he's a good CO...I really wouldn't want anyone else as my boss...he's good at what he does...and Teal'c, he's the voice of reason in the group. He's the one with all the knowledge packed away about the System Lords and all the other pesky races that are out there....and you...." Sam sighed softly.  
  
"More coffee...?"   
  
"...yeah....good idea." She smiled as Daniel collected the mugs and walked out to the kitchen to make some fresh coffee. Sam got up and stretched. How could she put into words what she actually thought and felt for Daniel. She sat down at the kitchen table and watched him silently as he made some fresh coffee and then frowned when the door bell sounded. Daniel looked around and she shrugged, getting up to answer the door.  
  
"Colonel!"  
  
"Hey...thought I'd come and see how you were doing."  
  
Sam motioned for him to come in. "Fine thanks....Daniel's just making some coffee...would you like some?"  
  
"He still here?!?!" Jack walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. "Hey Daniel..."  
  
"Oh hey Jack....coffee?"  
  
"Please."  
  
Jack frowned at Daniel's back slightly and then took the coffee that was offered him.   
  
Sam sighed softly. "Guys...I don't mean to be rude....but I could really use a shower. Will you be ok for a few minutes?"  
  
"Sure Sam...go ahead." Daniel smiled at her and watched as she made her way up the stairs. He then sat down opposite Jack who raised his eyebrow at him. "What?"  
  
"I thought you were busy tonight?"  
  
"I am...busy here."  
  
"Oh....Daniel...is there something going on between you and Carter that I should know about?"  
  
"Not yet no..."  
  
"Good because....wha? What do you mean 'not yet'?" Jack met Daniel's gaze and held it.  
  
Daniel sighed. "Jack...I realize that this probably isn't what you want to hear, but I'm going to tell you anyway. When I ascended, although it was a choice I made and one I don't regret...I felt sad that there was no one special in my life...that I'd never told the one person I loved how I felt...and now I have another chance at that....I love her Jack, with all my heart, I have for a few years now, but I never told her, never dared to hope that she could love me back."  
  
Jack watched Daniel lower his head into his hands. "...when you ascended Daniel, it hit Carter hard...very hard. You two were always close and we were all dealing with the loss of a friend, and for a while we all drifted apart. We all moved on...we had to, but she held onto your memory as if her life depended on it." Jack sighed. "As your CO this makes it difficult for me, team fraternization rules are there for a reason...but as your friend, if you really have found love together...then I think you should go for it. I think one of you will have to make some sacrifices but Daniel, I think that she does feel that same way...she's just scared of admitting it."  
  
Daniel stared at Jack, not quite sure what to say to him. "Um...that's not quite the reaction I was expecting from you."   
  
"I'll bet..." Glances at his watch, "..I have to go. Tell her Daniel...make sure she knows how you feel...I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." Daniel smiled softly as Jack made his way down the hall.  
  
Sam was walking back downstairs after her shower. "You going sir?"  
  
"Yeah...things to do...people to see." Sam sniggered and waved goodbye, turning and wandering back into the kitchen. She stopped abruptly when she saw the expression on Daniel's face. It was a mixture of sadness, loss, pain, confusion...and something else. Something she never expected to see there.  
  
"Daniel?" She asked quietly.  
  
He frowned slightly and sighed. "I came here tonight for more than one reason Samantha...I wanted to make sure you were alright...but I also wanted to tell you how I feel...and now I know that I can't."  
  
Sam sat down at the table and stared at him. "What do you mean?" He looked away from her and stared out of the window into the darkness. "Daniel...please."  
  
"I...I should go." Daniel got up and started to make his way out of the kitchen. Sam moved quickly and stopped him gently, standing infront of him and looking into his eyes. "Sam..."  
  
She stood before him, searching his eyes for the answers to the questions she daren't ask him. "I know." She said simply. "Me too."  
  
He nodded and made his way past her to collect his jacket. She watched him silently. He loved her...and despite everything that told her she shouldn't...she loved him too. But it could never be. Circumstances dictated their lives, rules kept them apart and a friendship that had been forged over many years decided the risk wasn't worth taking.  
  
And so there was the Dilemma....should she risk it all in the hope that both of them could find some happiness out of the daily destruction that haunted their lives....or let it go and continue to support the best friend she'd ever had. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Daniel cursing and his footsteps heading back towards her. She raised her head just as his hands cupped her face and he lowered his mouth to kiss her gently. She moaned softly and responded, pulling him against her and gently deepening the kiss.  
  
When they broke apart, he looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry...I just...I had to know."  
  
"I know." Sam murmured quietly, still holding him close. She rested her head against his chest as he gently stroked her hair, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Both of them wondering where they were going to go from here.  
  
To be continued...... in Sacrifice. coming soon 


End file.
